Yainer Diaz DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez and catcher Yainer Diaz are resting in Wednesday's series finale against the visiting Detroit Tigers. Outfielder Jose Altuve is serving as the DH and is batting second, while Victor Caratini is doing the catching and hitting fifth against Tigers rookie right-hander Jackson Jobe. Zach Dezenzo is in left field and is hitting eighth. Alvarez had an undisclosed injury scare on Monday and was pulled early against Detroit, but he returned to action on Tuesday and went 1-for-4 with an RBI in the 6-4 victory. It's still early, but the three-time All-Star hasn't been his normal self in 2025 to this point with a .219/.316/.354 slash line and three homers in 96 at-bats. Diaz will get a breather after starting the last four games. He, too, has also struggled at the plate early on, going 17-for-91 (.187) with two homers, 12 RBI and eight runs scored for Houston.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz will get the day off on Friday for the series opener in Kansas City against the Royals. Victor Caratini will replace him behind the plate and catch right-hander Hayden Wesneski while batting seventh against Royals veteran right-hander Seth Lugo. Diaz will get a day off to start the series in KC after getting off to a sluggish start to the season with the bat. The 26-year-old Dominican backstop has gone 13-for-75 (.173) with just one home run, eight RBI, six runs scored, three walks and 16 strikeouts in his first 20 games. The good news, though, is that he went 4-for-12 with a double, triple and RBI in the team's recent three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays, so fantasy managers will be hoping he can continue that this weekend. Caratini has hit .429 with an .858 OPS in seven career at-bats against Lugo, but he still represents a weak DFS play at the position.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz was just 2-for-33 on the season coming into Friday's game against the Angels, but he broke through in a big way, going 3-for-5 with a double, his first home run of the season, and five RBI. His home run was a grand slam in the fifth inning off of relief pitcher Garrett McDaniels, and he added his RBI double in the sixth to help power the Astros to a 14-3 victory. Diaz is still hitting just .132 over his first 10 games of the season with a .199 wOBA, but hopefully, this is a sign that he's ready to snap out of his slump and go on a roll. Last year, he had 16 homers and a .329 wOBA with 84 RBI in 148 games, and his fantasy managers will hope this big game gets him back on track.